The Bradley Review of Higher Education was a review initiated by the Australian Government in March 2008. The purpose of the review was to consider and report on the future direction of the higher education sector and seek recommendations for reform and continuing improvement.
The Review was conducted by an independent expert panel and was led by Emeritus Professor Denise Bradley AC.
A discussion paper, "Review of Australian Higher Education," was released in June 2008. The report was released on 17 December 2008 under the title "Transforming Australia’s Higher Education System"
The report recommended:
Most significantly, perhaps, the Review recommended that Australia set a target that by 2020 40 per cent of 25- to 34-year-old Australians have a university degree. This has attracted a significant amount of media attention.
In the 2009 Budget, the Australian Government announced funds to support higher education and research over four years in a response to the Bradley Review, Transforming Australia’s Higher Education System. The purpose of the funds allocation was to "support high quality teaching and learning, improve access and outcomes for students from low socio-economic backgrounds, build new links between universities and disadvantaged schools, reward institutions for meeting agreed quality and equity outcomes, improve resourcing for research and invest in world class tertiary education infrastructure".